Back to my Princess
by Talhonjik
Summary: Ryushi wonders whether he made the right choice in Calica ... Do you want a continuation of this story?
1. Default Chapter

Disclaim: I do not own Broken Sky;Chris Wooding does, bless him. ( I wrote this fanfic because I really think Ryushi should have chosen Li´ain at the end of the series, and wanted to see it happen, if only in MY story.  
  
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Back to my Princess  
  
A gentle breeze stirred the grass on the beach of the new land. In the distance, the other settlers, seated around the fire, laughed at some joke they had made. Calica shifted slightly in Ryushi´s arms, mumbling something in her sleep. Ryushi stared out at the sea, coloured red by the setting sun. They had arrived in the new land just this morning, after several days at sea. They had set up some tents to spend the first few nights in, and unloaded the boats. A couple of the younger, more adventurous ones had already set off into the forest to explore their new land. And now people seemed to be settling down for the night; already, the group around the fire was growing smaller as people wandered off to their seperate tents. Ryushi closed his eyes and listened to the sounds: the seabirds´ cries; the sea, its waves rolling gently against the sandy shore; the distant crackling of the fire and the quiet conversation of the other people; the wind, rustling the grass; and Calica´s quiet breathing. She must have sensed him looking at her, because she stretched, opened her eyes, and smiled up at him. "Hi," he said, quietly. Calica closed her eyes again, and smiled sleepily. "I love you, Ryushi," she said, almost asleep again. Ryushi looked back out at the sea. She loved him ... and, until a few days ago, he had thought he loved her back. But on the journey across the sea, his thoughts had not been on Calica, who had hardly left his side since they set off, but on the dark-haired princess he had left behind ... Li´ain ...  
  
Ryushi ... Li´ain sat alone on a rock by the dying fire. Blink and Whist snored in perfect synch on the other side. Blink´s backpaw twitched as Whist scratched his nose. Li´ain shivered, and drew her travelling cloak closer to her to keep the mountain cold out. She poked the fire with a twig, and stared into the embers as she thought. The part of her that was still the proud, cold princess Aurin might not want to admit it, but Li´ain missed Ryushi. She would probably never see him again, she knew. Her Splitling, Calica, had gone on with him to the new land, while she herself had stayed on in the Dominion, travelling with the boy Whist and his dog, Blink. Li´ain smiled to herself. Whist was arrogant and selfish, but she tolerated him. Actually, he claimed she was no better herself. But Whist was not Ryushi. Li´ain sighed, and lay down on the cool, mossy ground, closing her eyes.  
  
The fire had almost gone out further down the beach. Calica had gone to their tent for the night, and Ryushi sat, all alone, on the beach. He tossed a stone out across the water, and watched it skip across the surface before a wave covered it. He had come to a decision. Ryushi stood up, stretched, and began walking towards one of the few men left by the near-dead fire. "Anyo," he called. Anyo, a large, middle-aged man with red hair, turned round. "Oh, hello, Ryushi," he said, amiably. "You´ve not turned in yet?" Ryushi sat down opposite him. "Anyo... you´re taking the other boat back tomorrow, aren´t you?" "First thing, yes," Anyo replied. "There aren´t many good boats back in the Dominion; I´ll take this one back and pick up the next group. Why; you forget something?" Ryushi stared into the embers. "Yes," he said, almost to himself. "Or someone..." Anyo leaned forward, looking concerned. "You all right, Ryushi?" Ryushi looked up, a resolved expression on his face. "I´m fine," he said. "But ... will you take me with you?" Anyo looked surprised. "Take you with me?" he asked, sitting back. "Yes," Ryushi said. "I want to go back to the Dominion." Anyo stared at him. "You sure, boy? Why? Calica unhappy here or something?" The shadows, cast by the embers, flickered on Ryushi´s face. "She´s not coming with me," he said, so quietly Anyo hardly heard it. Anyo paused for a moment, then leant as far forwards towards Ryushi as he could. "Ryushi ... what´s happened? You can tell me, you know." Ryushi looked away. "It ... it doesn´t matter. But I have to get back to the Dominion as soon as possible." He looked back at Anyo. "Will you take me?" Anyo didn´t reply straightaway. "Ryushi, does Calica even know you´re going?" Ryushi bit his lip. "Not yet," he replied.  
  
Calica woke up when Ryushi entered the tent. "Hey," she said. "Where have you been?" Ryushi shrugged as he lay down, but didn´t reply. Pretty soon he was asleep. Calica lay there for a while, watching him. She sensed that he was troubled, and not only with her stones. His brow was furrowed as he slept, as though something in his dreams was bothering him. Calica closed her eyes. She would ask him about it in the morning.  
  
It was hardly light when Calica woke up to the sound of someone talking in a low voice. She opened her eyes groggily as Ryushi came back into the tent. He was fully dressed. "You going somewhere?" she asked. Ryushi nodded. "Where?" He did not reply. Instead he bent down and kissed her, gently. "Don´t worry," he said. "Just go back to sleep. Goodbye, Calica." And he was gone. Calica stared after him. Why had he sounded so formal? "Bye," she said.  
  
The sun, shining in through a small hole in the tent, woke her up again quite a while later. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She felt at once that something was wrong. She looked around the tent. All Ryushi´s things had gone. And on his sleeping mattress was a folded piece of paper. Calica snatched it up. Her stones flared into life. Her eyes widened, and she cried out. He´s leaving, she thought, in a panic. She tossed the paper aside, threw on some clothes and dashed out of the tent. "Ryushi!" she screamed, although she feared it was too late.  
  
She grabbed a passing man. "Where´s Ryushi?" she demanded. The man was shocked, both at being grabbed like that, and at Calica´s desperate manner. "D-didn´t he leave with Anyo?" he stuttered. Calica felt her blood freeze. Oh, god, no, she thought desperately. She spun around. There, out on the horizon, was a small dot which, if you looked closely, was probably Anyo´s ship. Calica ran to the beach, startling the seabirds that had settled there. She tripped and fell to her knees in the sand, her eyes fixed on the disappearing ship. "Ryushi ..." she whispered.  
  
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OK, that was chapter 1, I´ll have chapter 2 up soon, I´ve nearly finished it, so PLEEEEEAAAAASE review, I´m DYING to hear what you think, PLEASE!!! P.S. Thanks to Waffles and Sheep Girl (guys, you know who you are!!!(), for all their ideas and help!!! 


	2. Chapter 2

OK, here´s chapter 2! Hope you enjoy it!  
  
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Ryushi stood at the back of the ship, his wyvern, Araceil, at his side, and stared back at the rapidly disappearing green line that was the new land. It´s best like this, Calica, he thought, grimly. Anyo came up behind him. "You sure you´re doing the right thing, Ryushi?" he asked, quietly. Ryushi took one last look at the land, and them turned away from it, facing back to the Dominion. "It´s the only right thing to do, Anyo," he said firmly. He forced a small smile. "Full steam on to the Dominion."  
  
Calica made her way slowly back to the tent. How could he have done this to her? Her eyes were full of tears. She´d thought - she´d thought - that he´d loved her. She entered their tent again. Had he only been pretending? She sat down on her sleeping mattress. How could he have done this to her? The folded piece of paper, lying where she had tossed it, caught her eye. She picked it up, her fingers trembling, and unfolded it.  
  
Dear Calica, You´re probably wondering why I´m gone. I just want to say I´m sorry; I didn´t mean for it to be like this. But over the past few days I´ve realized that my feelings for you weren´t real. Again, I´m sorry. But I know now they were just a reflection of my feelings for someone else, someone I have now gone back to the Dominion to find. I hope you don´t hate me for this, but I understand perfectly if you do. This is goodbye. Please don´t try to follow me, it would only make it more painful. Goodbye Calica; I´m going back to my princess. Your friend, Ryushi.  
  
Calica could hardly read the last few lines for the smudges in the ink, caused by her tears. A sob escaped her. "...How could you..." But who was this he was going back to? Who had stolen him from her? Her green eyes narrowed with a cold understanding as she read the last line again. "...back to my princess ..." "Aurin," she hissed. But ... but that was what he wanted, fine. She would get along without him. Calica crumpled the letter up in a angry fist. If he could do this kind of thing to her he wasn´t worth her tears. She tried to stop crying, and wiped her face. She would get along without him.  
  
Li´ain stepped across the rocky ground. Whist and Blink ran ahead of her, jumping easily between the sharp rocks. Whist stopped and turned back towards her, crossing his arms. "You coming, your almightyness?" he called. Li´ain sighed, carried on across the difficult terrain. Suddenly, Blink stopped. He turned and looked at the sky in the direction they had been heading from. Whist shielded his eyes against the sun and looked up. "Yeah," he said, to Blink. "I see it, too. What´dya reckon it is?" Li´ain squinted up into the sky. A small, black dot was heading down towards them. A quiet sound behind her told Li´ain that Whist had got out his bladed discs. By now the dot was close enough for them to see that it was a mounted wyvern. A familiar one, at that ... Li´ain froze as the wycern landed a little way away from them, and the rider dismounted. Whist and Blink stared at him. "Ryushi?" Whist said, eventually. "What the hell are you doing here?" Ryushi did not reply, but stared seriously at Li´ain. "Li´ain; I have to talk to you," he said. He turned to Whist, who was looking from one to the other. "Whist ... do you mind?" Whist crossed his arms. "Oh, yeah, just kick me out, it´s not like I wanna know what´s happenin´ or anything ..." He saw the look on Ryushi´s face. "Okay, okay ... me and Blink´ll just go ... catch us somethin´ to eat," he added, quickly. He put his hand on the dog´s head, and they disappeared. Ryushi approached her. "Li´ain -" he began. Li´ain stared down at the ground. "Ryushi, I have nothing to say to you that has not already been said," she said, severely. "Li´ain, please listen to me," Ryushi protested. He came all the way up to her. "I already told you I will not settle for second place," Li´ain said. "You´ve made your choice between me and her." "What if I told you I realised I made the wrong choice?" Ryushi said, quietly. "And that I knew I couldn´t live with that wrong choice; and that I´m sorry, but - I love you." Li´ain looked up for the first time since she´d realised who was on the wyvern, and saw the pain, as well as the warmth, radiating from his eyes. She felt there were tears in her own eyes, and looked away again. "What - what about Calica?" she managed. It was Ryushi´s turn to look away. "I - I left her a letter. I know I shouldn´t´ve just left her like that. But Li´ain," he took her hands gently, "I want to be with you." She pulled them away. "I expect you told Calica that as well. How do I know you won´t walk out on me like you did to her?" He did not reply. She looked up at him again. And in his eyes she saw how he felt; and she knew them that he meant what he had just said; he would never walk away from her. Ryushi took her hands again. This time, she did not pull them back. "Please," he said, softly. "I´d nver walk out on you; you know that." Li´ain, her eyes still on his face, nodded slowly. "Yes; I know." Their lips met. After a long while, they parted again. Ryushi still held her, and he smiled. "Does this mean you´ll let me stay with you; at least for a while?"  
  
Li´ain smiled back up at him, and kissed him again gently. "Perhaps," she said. "We will see."  
  
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(Wipes a tear) Ah, that´s how Broken Sky should have ended. Anyway, I have an idea for a continuation of this story; if you´d like to see it here, REVIEW AND TELL ME!!!!!! Thanx, Talhonjik. 


	3. About the continuation

This isn't really a chapter . Sorry about that .  
  
Anyway, I said I had an idea for a continuation of my story . well, here it is, if I get enough POSITIVE comments on it I WILL post it, I've nearly finished the first chapter.  
  
18 years after Back to my Princess . what would have happened by then? Would Ryushi and Li´ain maybe have had kids? And what about Calica? Would she have lived alone all those years since Ryushi left her for the girl we all know he REALLY loved? And what if he had left Calica with something he didn't know about .  
  
Oh please don't kill me Tatterdemalion like you killed Vore, dat´s mean! ^_^  
  
Ahem . So review or e-mail if you want to find out the answers to the above questions, or if you think I should leave that story where it is, in my twisted little mind.  
  
Talhonjik.  
  
PS. I haven't given up on my Ranma fic, it's just a difficult chapter, sorry it's taking so long! 


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